Supporting municipal partnerships

Context

Partnerships between municipalities in Germany and those in the partner countries of German development cooperation are an important factor in achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda. In some cases, however, partner municipalities lack the knowledge they need to implement partnership initiatives effectively. As a result, cooperation sometimes falls short of its potential.

Objective

Selected municipalities are in a better position to implement municipal partnerships and therefore achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.

Approach

The project supports the participating municipalities from partner countries of German development cooperation with international and national experts. The aim is to improve municipal service provision and good local governance, make the cooperation structures of partner municipalities more viable and expand civil society engagement. There is a particular focus on the principles of ‘leave no one behind’, ‘accountability’ and ‘integrated approaches’. Potential thematic areas for expert assignments include urban and traffic planning, circular economy, climate change adaptation, smart cities and water management.

The eligibility requirements for municipalities are:

• Existing partnership between a German municipality and a municipality in a partner country of German development cooperation
• Joint declaration of interest
• A project idea that is geared towards the goals of the 2030 Agenda and aims for sustainable municipal development

What the municipalities can expect:

• The project sets needs-based thematic priorities for the assignment of experts
• It supports the partnership with networking offers and training measures
• It is on hand to provide advice to the partner municipalities

The project is implemented in cooperation with Engagement Global’s ‘Service Agency Communities in One World’ (SKEW).

Last update: April 2023